Working on two television shows and doing several voice-over TV roles, all at the same time, could take its toll on almost anyone. It’s really hard for someone who also works on the road as a standup comedian.
No wonder Dave Coulier took 10 years off from full-time touring of comedy clubs around the country.
“It was seven days a week of pitching jokes,” says Coulier of his various outside interests. “I just burned out. And there was no time for standup, something that you really have to concentrate on.”
Coulier co-starred on ABC’s hugely successful “Full House” for eight years. ABC, which had “Full House” star Bob Saget also hosting “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” created “America’s Funniest People” and got Coulier as a co-host.
Coulier, a master of vocal characters and impersonations, also did voices on the cartoons “The Real Ghostbusters” and “Muppet Babies.” It all kept him extremely busy — too busy to perform at colleges and clubs at the same pace as when he started almost 20 years ago.
“I did a few concerts with Dennis Miller and Louie Anderson and Saget, and my heart wasn’t in it,” says Coulier of those hectic days. “I would be playing in these 12,000-seat arenas and just saying to myself I can’t do this anymore.”
It’s now been a few years since Coulier worked on two series at the same time and voiced roles on animated series on a full-time basis. In other words, a perfect opportunity for him to return to standup on a more consistent basis.
“That’s the way I am characterizing myself, as the Tour Monster,” laughs Coulier, 37.
Coulier has been playing clubs and other locations for the last several months, gathering material for a possible HBO special. When Coulier worked at the Improv in Chicago several years ago, he did a lot of different characters and cartoon voices and closed his set by impersonating a water fountain.
Now, “I’m doing more reality-based stuff,” he says, “things that have happened to me because of `Full House,’ like being recognized, and talking about my family heritage, being French and growing up hearing broken French-English. And I’m talking a lot about my kid and marriage, divorce, a little bit of political stuff.”
A large part of the Detroit native’s act used to be his thinking up topics and bits off the top of his head. “But they weren’t really real,” Coulier says. “So this stuff hits a lot closer to home.”
Performing standup may currently be in the forefront of Coulier’s career, but that doesn’t mean he has turned his back on television. Coulier did a guest stint on the upcoming CBS comedy “George & Leo,” and the producers have talked about bringing back his character, a new-age priest, for future episodes.
Coulier shot a pilot for a comedy series, “Local Zeros,” which he describes as a cross between “Dumb and Dumber” and “Home Improvement.” He’ll soon hear whether CBS will pick it up as a midseason replacement series. Coulier also has a deal with another studio to develop a series. On top of all that, he would like to try directing a sitcom.
Although Coulier will continue to perform standup, “I really love television,” he says. “I really don’t know anything about the movie business, to be quite honest. It’s like comparing football to baseball; they’re two totally different industries. And television is something that I know a great deal about.”
Dave Coulier, one-time star of ABC’s “Full House” and “America’s Funniest People,” performs Friday and Saturday at Zanies’ Mt. Prospect comedy club, 2200 S. Elmhurst Rd. For reservations and show times, call 847-228-6166.
Larry’s laments
Larry Hankin is a long-time character actor who has appeared as Mr. Heckles on “Friends” and as the man who played Kramer on Jerry Seinfeld’s television pilot, a kind of play-within-a-play on “Seinfeld,” all of which will make immediate sense to “Seinfeld” fans.
But although Hankin has also appeared in such movies as “Pretty Woman,” “Home Alone” and the current release “moneytalks,” he has a rich tradition in sketch comedy and improvisation. He is a former member of Second City and a founding member of the San Francisco improv group the Committee.
Hankin is making a homecoming, staging his one-man show at Second City’s Donny’s Skybox Studio Theatre. “Larry Hankin: Roadrash Jones and Other Stories,” plays Friday and Saturday at 1608 N. Wells St. in Piper’s Alley. For tickets and show times, call the Second City box office at 312-337-3992.
Quick laughs
– Marriott’s Lincolnshire Resort is now in the comedy business. Located at 10 Marriott Drive in Lincolnshire, the resort is presenting a night of standup at 8:30 every Thursday, under the watchful eye of local comedian Amy Crossfield, who handles the booking.
Scheduled to appear next Thursday are Crossfield, Tim Joyce and John Novotny. Shows are held at the resort’s Main Brace Lounge. For reservations and other details, call 847-634-0100, ext. 6125.
– Appearing through Sunday at the Barrel of Laughs, 10345 S. Central Ave., Oak Lawn (call 708-499-2969), are Chris Penney and Diane Docey.
– Dan Chopin, who has performed on several Showtime and Arts & Entertainment Network comedy shows, is the headliner Friday and Saturday at the Funny Bone, 1504 N. Naper Blvd., Naperville; call 630-955-0500.
– Corey Holcomb, Leon Rogers Jr. and Craig Robinson won the Chicago leg of the Canadian Mist Comedy Challenge last week at All Jokes Aside. They go on to regional competitions, with a chance to make it to the finals — Nov. 15 at the Regal Theatre in Chicago — and vie for a $10,000 grand prize.
